# CVE-2022-50899: Geonetwork 4.2.0 - XML External Entity (XXE)

> Attackers can read arbitrary server files via XML external entity injection in PDF rendering requests.

- **Severity:** High 8.7 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 13 Jan 2026
- **Updated:** 14 May 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-q595-r7rh-mc9h

## What is CVE-2022-50899?

CVE-2022-50899 is a high-severity vulnerability in GeoNetwork, published on 13 Jan 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Geonetwork 3.10 through 4.2.0 contains an XML external entity vulnerability in PDF rendering that allows attackers to retrieve arbitrary files from the server. Attackers can exploit the insecure XML parser by crafting a malicious XML document with external entity references to read system files through the baseURL parameter in PDF creation requests.

Weakness: CWE-611 (Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-50899?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Osgeo Geonetwork.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-50899?

No fix has been published for CVE-2022-50899 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2022-50899 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-50899 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in GeoNetwork

- [CVE-2021-28398](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-28398/): Command injection in n/a (high 7.2)
- [CVE-2024-32037](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-32037/): GeoNetwork vulnerable to search end-point information disclosure in response headers (not scored)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-50899 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-50899 is a high-severity vulnerability in GeoNetwork, published on 13 Jan 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-50899 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: GeoNetwork. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-50899/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-50899/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-50899
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-50899
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-50899

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-50899/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.